Leicester City are in talks to sign young Malian forward Fousseni Diabate as they return to the happy hunting ground of Ligue 2.

City have initiated discussions with Gazelec Ajaccio over Diabate, but face competition from French and European clubs.

In the recent past, City made several successful signings from the French second tier, bringing in Anthony Knockaert and Riyad Mahrez, while N'Golo Kante was a regular in the division before a season in Ligue 1.

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Now, City have returned to the league for 22-year-old Diabate, who usually plays as a striker, but has featured on both the right and left wing.

Left-footed Diabate has started all-but-one of Gazelec’s 20 matches this campaign, scoring three goals and assisting one more since his summer arrival, signing for the Corsican club on a three-year deal after being released by Guingamp.

Although his record does not stand out, Diabate’s performances have previously attracted interest from top-tier clubs Southampton, Wolfsburg and Rennes.

Fousseni Diabate shares an agent with Papy Mendy, seen in action on loan at Nice from Leicester City (Image: Denis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images)

Diabate’s advisor Yacine Ayad, who also represents City midfielder Papy Mendy, confirmed City’s interest but denied the talks were advanced, as first reported by French media.

“Leicester have started discussions between the clubs for Fousseni,” Ayad told L’Equipe . “But at this stage, there is nothing yet done so much as Gazelec have received other offers from Ligue 1 and from abroad in the past few days.”

Diabate was born in France, but represents Mali internationally, and has played for the African nation’s under-23s.

At Gazelec, Diabate is a team-mate of Gregoire Puel, the eldest son of City manager Claude.